Atop the plateau of Lookout Mountain in the small Alabama community of Mentone sits The Possum Emporium, a shop built around the idea that yesterday’s forgotten object deserves a second life. The store deals in antiques, vintage collectibles, and assorted curiosities, the kind of inventory that rewards slow browsing rather than a quick errand. Shoppers touring the mountain’s overlooks, waterfalls, and small-town storefronts on their way toward DeSoto State Park or Little River Canyon will find the shop at 1774 County Road 642, an easy stop for anyone spending a day on the ridge.
The business has an unusual origin story worth knowing before a visit. Before it became The Possum Emporium, the same space operated as The Purple Thistle, LLC, an art consignment collective founded by Meg Richardson after she stepped away from a twenty year career in public safety. The Purple Thistle showcased a wide range of locally made work, including block prints, photography, acrylic paintings, mixed media pieces, metalwork, jewelry, fabric art, and needlework, giving Mentone area artists a retail outlet on the mountain. In 2020, Richardson and her husband Al closed The Purple Thistle and reopened the same address under its current name, shifting the focus from consigned fine art toward a broader mix of antiques and curiosities. The couple has described the change as a way to serve their community with purpose, and that community minded, faith driven approach carries over from the shop’s earlier chapter into the one it is writing now.
Mentone itself is a small, artsy mountain town that has long drawn visitors for its cooler summer climate, its proximity to DeSoto State Park and Little River Canyon, and its cluster of independent shops, cabins, and galleries strung along the ridge. The Possum Emporium fits naturally into that setting, offering a browsing experience geared toward travelers looking for a unique souvenir or a piece of furniture with some history behind it, alongside locals who stop in for a regular look at whatever has newly arrived. Because inventory in a shop like this changes with each estate find, auction lot, and consignment drop off, no two visits tend to turn up the same finds, which is part of the appeal for repeat customers who treat the shop as a standing stop on their mountain town rounds.
Visitors can reach the shop by phone at 256-634-1295 to check on current inventory or ask about specific items before making the drive up the mountain. The shop does not publish a fixed set of hours online, so calling ahead is the most reliable way to confirm it is open, particularly outside the busiest tourist months when small mountain town shops sometimes adjust their schedules. That kind of direct, personal contact fits the character of a business that grew out of a locally rooted art collective rather than a chain operation, and it reflects the same neighborly approach the Richardsons have carried from one version of the shop to the next.
For anyone exploring the antique and curiosity shops scattered along Lookout Mountain, The Possum Emporium in Mentone, Alabama offers a rotating mix of antiques, vintage collectibles, and one of a kind finds inside a space with roots in a local artist consignment collective, making it a worthwhile stop for both browsing and buying on any drive through DeSoto State Park country.
